Obama: President can’t cold shoulder anyone

President Obama spared the comedy and seized the high ground Tuesday on “Late Night with David Letterman,” rebutting the latest and greatest of Republican opponent Mitt Romney’s rich guy gaffes.

The president appeared one day after a leaked video showed Romney, speaking at a $50,000-a-head fundraiser, disparaging Obama voters as government-dependent moochers and telling wealthy donors he would give them short shrift if elected.

“One of the things I learned as president is you represent the entire country: If you want to be President, you have to work for everyone,” Obama told Letterman and a nationwide TV audience.

In his Florida fund-raising speech, Romney had said of those he identified as the 47 percent who are “dependent on government” and “believe they are victims”: “My job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”

Photo: John Moore / Getty Images

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"I should tell my story. I'm also unemployed" -- Mitt Romney at Tampa, Fla., coffee shop, June 2011. "Are you on Linkedin?" asked an audience member. "I'm networking. I have my sights on a particular job," replied Romney. less

"I should tell my story. I'm also unemployed" -- Mitt Romney at Tampa, Fla., coffee shop, June 2011. "Are you on Linkedin?" asked an audience member. "I'm networking. I have my sights on a particular job," ... more

Photo: John Moore / Getty Images

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"Corporations are people, my friend" -- Mitt Romney responding to a heckler at Iowa State Fair, August 2011. A moment later, he added: "Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to the people. Where do you think it goes? Peoples' pockets." less

"Corporations are people, my friend" -- Mitt Romney responding to a heckler at Iowa State Fair, August 2011. A moment later, he added: "Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to the people. Where do ... more

Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

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"I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. You know, if someone doesn't give me the good service I need, I want to say, 'You know, I'm going to get someone else to provide this service to me" -- Mitt Romney, Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, January, 2012. less

"I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. You know, if someone doesn't give me the good service I need, I want to say, 'You know, I'm going to get someone else to provide this service to ... more

Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

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"I know what it's like to worry whether you're going to get fired. There were a couple of times I wondered whether I was going to get a pink slip" -- Mitt Romney, Rochester, N.H., January, 2012. less

"I know what it's like to worry whether you're going to get fired. There were a couple of times I wondered whether I was going to get a pink slip" -- Mitt Romney, Rochester, N.H., January, ... more

Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

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"I'm in this race because I care about Americans. I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it" -- Mitt Romney on CNN, Florida, February 2012. He went on to say: "I'm not concerned about the very rich. They're doing just fine. I'm concerned about the very heart of America, the 90 percent." less

"I'm in this race because I care about Americans. I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it" -- Mitt Romney on CNN, Florida, February 2012. He went ... more

Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

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"I like the fact that most of the cars I see are Detroit made cars. I drove a Mustang and a Chevy pickup truck. Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs, actually" -- Mitt Romney, Michigan, February 2012.

"I like the fact that most of the cars I see are Detroit made cars. I drove a Mustang and a Chevy pickup truck. Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs, actually" -- Mitt Romney, Michigan, February 2012.

Photo: Scott Olson / Getty Images

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"Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans. But I have some great friends who are NASCAR team owners" -- Mitt Romney, Florida, February 2012, reply to question on whether he follows NASCAR racing. less

"Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans. But I have some great friends who are NASCAR team owners" -- Mitt Romney, Florida, February 2012, reply to question on whether he follows NASCAR ... more

Photo: John Harrelson / Getty Images for NASCAR

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Obama: President can't cold shoulder anyone

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Obama, mindful of his own guns-and-religion gaffe in 2008, noted to Letterman:

“All of make mistakes: What people want to know, though, is you’re not writing off a big chunk of the country. This is a big country. And people disagree a lot, but one thing I’ve never tried to do, and I think none of us can do in public office, is suggest that because someone doesn’t agree with me that they’re victims or unpatriotic.”

“There are not a lot of people out there who think they’re victims. There are not a lot of people who think they’re entitled to something.”

If Obama is reelected in November, a big part of Mitt Romney’s political base had better hope that he worries about them.

A 2008 Tax Foundation map showed that a band of Deep South states — from Texas to South Carolina — has the highest percentage of people receiving government benefits and/or paying no federal income taxes. Romney is likely to carry these states.

But William Kristol, conservative editor of The Weekly Standard, described Romney’s fundraising remarks as “arrogant” and “stupid.”

The location of Romney’s fundraiser was disclosed Tuesday. It was the Boca Raton, Fla.,, home of Marc Leder, co-CEO of the Sun Capital Group, a private equity firm similar to the Romney-founded Bain Capital.

Leder was in the news a year ago for a summer-ending party at his rented, $500,000 a month estate at Bridgehampton on New York’s Long Island. It reportedly featured nudity, scantily clad Russian dancers, and sex acts around the pool.